Human Knowledge
by xXI.AM.BEASTXx
Summary: Five years have passed and Chihiro is now 15. She misses her friends from the Spirit world and wants desperately to see them again, but what will happen when she gets her wish, and how will she get back home when she's got so many reasons to stay? H/C
1. Passing Years

**I've come to a point in my life where I am addicted to everything anime. I'm unashamed to say that I have watched this movie at least 7 times in the last few months and end up irritated with the ending each time. The only solution I could come up with: write a Fanfic about it and hope that others are grateful for my imagination. If it's good, it's mine; if it's bad, it's mine. Unfortunately, everything else about the movie I had nothing to do with. This is far from my first Fanfic, and I hope I do the movie justice. Read and Review please. **

Chapter 1: Passing Years Chihiro POV

Five years. It had been five years since my life had been changed for good. Since I had met the spirits and people who would help me become the person I was today. Five years since I had gotten my name stolen and replaced within a 10 day period. A lot had changed since then, but thanks to everything I had experienced in the spirit world, nothing surprised me much anymore.

I was now 15, close to turning 16. It was a happy and sad occasion. It was happy because I was now able to make more decisions like getting a job, or getting my permit. But it was sad because I hadn't been in contact with any of my spirit friends in four years.

Yes, four years. I may not have seen any of them in five years, but the week after I came back from our little… "Detour", I soon discovered that there was an unusually large sinkhole incident out where we had moved from. My aunt had been living in one of the unfortunate houses, so we had to go back out there. It turns out that the sinkhole had actually been where the Kohaku River used to be, and it had destroyed the apartments on top of it. The city didn't want to build anything else on the dangerous ground, so they dug up and re-established the Kohaku River to what it had been before.

Two weeks after that, my parents and I went out there to help my aunt move to our house where she would stay until she found another home. While they were packing her stuff into our car, they let me go visit with a few friends that lived near the sinkhole area. They were glad to see me, but didn't seem to notice the change in me. I pretended it didn't bother me and left with a forced smile.

Before I went back to my family, I decided to stop by the River, secretly hoping that He would be there to greet me…

_4 years ago…_

_I was going to miss my friends, but they didn't even seem to care that I was leaving again… as I turned down the street to find my family, I was distracted by the glimmer of the sun on the river water._

'_One minute wouldn't hurt.' I thought to myself._

_I walked down the bank slowly, looking both ways searching for any sign of life. There wasn't one person in sight. If there wasn't so much noise from traffic, then I could have believed that I was out in the middle of nowhere. _

_With a hopeful smile, I kept going forward. _

"_Haku?" I asked, in almost a whisper. There was no answer._

"_Haku?" I asked once again, louder this time. Once again there was no answer._

_I began to wonder if he was even here. He could still be with Yubaba, or with Zeniba. If he was here, would he even answer me? Did he remember me?_

'_Probably not.'_

_With another sigh, I sat down on a large smooth river rock near the water and took my shoes off. I was about to stick my feet in when I remembered that putting my feet in might be disrespectful; so I settled for resting them on the ground a few inches away._

"_Sorry." I said. Even if he wasn't here, I wasn't going to be impolite and stick my dirty feet into his beautiful river. _

_Before I could let my heart ache from his lack of response, the water seemed to raise from its steady height just enough to cover my toes, and I thought I heard an echo of an all too familiar voice. _

_I wasn't sure what it was saying, but it was proof that he was here, and he knew I was too. I smiled widely, happy that if I couldn't see him, he was at least there. It was enough to make me stay and talk with him._

"_I don't see you Haku, but I know you're here. I have a lot of questions, but I'll settle for telling you what's going on with me."_

_I launched into the memories of what had happened back at home when I left the spirit world. How my parents had passed off the missing week and a half as a mess up in the calendar, how they didn't remember anything, and how I remembered everything. _

_I explained that I made lots of new friends in the human world, but none were as close as the ones I had left in the Spirit World. I even added that I wore the gift from Zeniba and the others every day. There was no reply other than the bubbling of the River, and soon it had become late and it was time for me to go._

_Reluctantly I got up and brushed the leaves and dirt off my pants. _

"_I have to leave Haku. I'm not sure when I'll be back, or when I'll see you again." Of course there was no answer. "Say hi to everybody for me please, and don't forget about me." I turned and began to walk away and when I was about a few steps away, there was a splash and a few droplets of water hit my back. I turned around quickly, but there was nobody there, but I heard an echoed laugh, and I couldn't help but smile before I turned once more and ran back to my family. _

I hadn't been back to visit since then, and was getting very anxious about it. I wasn't sure if he would be angry about that, or if he had forgotten about me. I wondered if everybody else was angry about me not keeping in touch. Even though they did everything they could to help me get back home, I couldn't help but feel guilty about not visiting, or doing something to let them know that I hadn't forgotten about them.

It seemed even worse with the fact that with everything they did to get me here, I didn't want to stay here. To be honest, I wanted to go back to the spirit world and never leave. The friends I had made here were nothing compared to the ones I had in the spirit world. The ones I had here only cared about what I looked like and how I acted. They didn't help me with anything, they didn't ask questions about me, they only cared about what they saw. Even the friends that I had left in my old town stopped calling me after the first year. But no matter how much I wanted to return, I still had my parents to think about.

My aunt was still living with us and it seemed it was going to stay like that for a while. I didn't mind, but what really frightened me was the fact that she was trying to get us all to move to a different country. She hadn't made up her mind about which yet, but then again, she didn't really care. She wanted away from this country, and she wanted our family to pay for it all. I love my aunt, I really do, but she makes the worst choices.

Unfortunately, they think that I agree with them, they don't know that I am one hundred percent against moving. They don't know that I make it part of my daily regimen to sit and sift through the memories I have of my time in the spirit world. They don't know that I take daily runs to the entrance of the realm, but have never had the guts to go in again. They don't know that if we actually moved away from here, I would have absolutely nothing to live for.

**REVIEW IF YOU LIKE IT AND THINK I SHOULD CONTINUE. I HAVE A LOT MORE IDEAS IN MY HEAD FOR THIS STORY.**


	2. NoFace, No Place

**I'm glad that so many people liked the first chapter! This is the first time I've written for anything anime and I know very little on Japanese culture. I do know, on the other hand, how to put myself in a character's shoes. I hope that by doing that, I can portray how the characters might act. I hope you like this chapter more than the last. I'm not as good with beginnings as I am with the main story. Read and review please!**

Chapter 2: No-face, No Place

"Chihiro, you're going to be late if you don't get up now!" my dad yelled from the end of the hall. I sat up quickly, probably a little too quickly considering I felt lightheaded for a moment.

"Coming!" I yelled back before quickly throwing my hair up and putting on a casual spring outfit. I ran to the kitchen and warmed up a bowl of oatmeal.

There was something off about today, as if something was going to happen. Not something bad, just different. I pushed it to the back of my mind before downing my breakfast and running out front to get my bike.

My school was only a mile or two away from my house, but it wasn't the closest one. Before we had moved, my parents had given me the option of going to a public school, or to a private live-in boarding school. I, of course, went with public school.

I pulled into the school's parking lot within a few minutes and locked my bike up before sprinting to my first period class. I walked in the room, at the same exact time that the bell rang. My science teacher gave me his usual evil glare before turning to the board and writing about what we were going to work on today.

I didn't exactly like school, but I liked going. School was a distraction. It kept my thoughts away from the people and the place that I had to leave behind. Constantly thinking about that took up my entire life. When I wasn't concentrating on something else, I was thinking about the Spirit World. It came to the point where I actually got sick thinking about it. School gave me a reason to forget about everything for a little while and focus on my education; but it didn't always work.

That's what my issue was today. I was having problems focusing on the material. My mind was elsewhere and soon enough, I was staring out the window at the beautiful sunny day. My mind first strayed to Yubaba. For some odd reason, I had forgiven her before she had even given my parents back. I knew that it was probably a bad idea to think of her as a nice person, but in my head, she just wanted somebody to rely on.

Next were Boh and Yubird. They had been wonderful companions through the trip to Zeniba's. I missed them, and hoped that if I were ever to return to the Spirit World, that they would be there for me to catch up with.

Lin and Kamaji were next. They were hard to forget, since both had bad attitudes and kind hearts. If I ever got the chance to see them again, I would take it in a heartbeat.

Zeniba and No-face. I wouldn't exactly call my friends, more like family. Zeniba was like an over-eccentric magical grandmother while No-face was the annoying cousin that means well. Both of them I missed deeply.

Then finally there was Haku. Every thought that I had of Haku was complicated. I wasn't sure how to describe my feelings for Haku… I thought that I had loved him, but I had only been ten at the time and my description of love then had been a little different than what it was now. Now that I'm fifteen and more matured, I'm not really sure what I had felt. For all I know I could have been a friendly love, or a brotherly/sisterly love. If I were to know for sure if what I had felt had been true love, then I would need to spend some more time with him and I don't see that happening anytime soon no matter how much I wish it could be soon. I do know one thing for sure though; Haku was and always will be my best friend.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I noticed something off about the corner of the window. It was almost as if a black mist was forming, but when I looked there was nothing there. Or at least, that's what I thought. When I looked closer, I noticed that a little spot in the window seemed distorted, as if there was a flame underneath it and the heat was making the scene behind it look melted. But that's not what made my heart jump, what made my heart jump was when I noticed a translucent white mask with red markings.

'No-face?' I asked myself.

"Chihiro!" I looked up quickly at the teacher. He was looking at me expectantly. "What's the answer?"

"Um… can you repeat the question please?" He sighed exasperatedly.

"Never mind, class is almost over anyways. Go ahead and leave." We all gathered our stuff and filed out the door.

I was completely lost in my own mind as I walked to my locker. Had that really been No-face? And if it was, how and why was he here? I put my books in my locker and started walking to my next class.

That's how the rest of the day went. I would see shadows around every turn, and in every corner. But when I would look, I there would be nothing there. I was starting to believe that I was going insane. But as I was about to go to my last class, I saw a shadow in the middle of the hallway. But instead of disappearing when I looked, I was face-to-face with a fully formed No-face. Nobody seemed to see him, so I didn't react outwardly, while on the inside I was jumping with pure joy for seeing my friend.

I forced myself to casually walk over to him. "Meet me outside." I whispered, so that nobody else would hear me. He nodded before disappearing. I walked as quickly as possible out the door and around the corner where No-face reappeared next to me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked happily. He held out his hand where a little folded note appeared. I hesitantly took it.

"What's this?" Before I could open it though, the bell rang, signaling the start of class. I turned to check and see if there was anybody coming, but there was nobody.

"I have to go…" I said turning back, but No-face was gone.

I tucked the note into my pocket and ran back into the school and into my classroom. The teacher didn't even pass me a glance as I sat down. Like before in my other classes, I couldn't focus, but this time is was because I couldn't keep my mind off the note in my pocket.

**How was chapter two? I promise it will get better and the chapters will get longer. I've been writing a rough draft out and I think I'm getting carpel tunnel. XD But oh well, I'll suffer through it. Writing this story is fun!**


	3. Rejected Souls

**I'm glad people like the story! It makes me feel accomplished! So I hope you like this chapter; and trust me, all this annoying explaining is leading up to the main part of the story, but if I hadn't put it in, the main plot wouldn't make any sense.**

Chapter 3: Rejected Souls

After an agonizing two hours, the bell rang signaling the end of class. I had run to my locker and gotten everything I needed to take home within fifty seconds before running out the door and getting my bike as fast as I could. The note felt like it was burning a hole in my pocket. The longer it took to start heading home, the more I wanted to read the note.

As I was riding up the hill to get to my house, it started happening again. There were shadows popping up everywhere. But mostly down a little path that was to my left. When I had finally reached the opening to the little path, I remembered that this was the path that we had taken to get to the spirit world.

It had deteriorated over the five years. There were now trees and other plants growing on it. The dirt had been overgrown by grass, and the tracks that used to be on it were now completely gone. The only reason I knew that this was the path that I had taken was because of the little man-made shrines that were sitting underneath a big tree.

I looked deeper down the path and noticed there was a shadow that shouldn't have been there, but when I looked again, it was gone. The only thing that was different was that this time I knew it was No-face. I turned and began riding down the trail.

The dirt was hard and bumpy, making my bike wobble back and forth, but I was able to control it so that it wasn't as bad as it was when my dad came through here.

I followed the shadows until I reached the tunnel. But there was nobody there waiting for me, so I sat on a fallen tree.

This wasn't the first time I had come here after I had left the Spirit World. I had come here plenty of times in the past, but in the last two years, I had completely avoided this area. Just sitting here brought back many good, but saddening memories. Every time I would come here, I would sit in this exact same spot and just stare at the tunnel, trying to make a decision. It shouldn't have been a tough decision, considering I had already made it a few years ago; but every time I did, I would postpone it "for just a little longer". The decision of course was whether or not I should go back. I had told myself that I would go, but every time I came here, I would always end up going home, promising to go another day.

With a sigh, I folded an arm and rested my chin on my hand and knee. I wished I had the guts to go back, but I honestly had no idea what would happen when I did. If I would get stuck there, or what I would tell my parents when I came back. It was just all so confusing.

I sat up again and I felt something in my pocket fold and I was suddenly reminded of the note.

'How did I forget about it?'

I pulled it out, making sure I was alone, and opened it.

_Chihiro,_

_It's been quite some time since we last saw you. I can't even imagine what a pretty young lady you've turned into, but despite my grandmother-like instincts, I am sorry to say that this letter was not sent so that we could catch up. I've sent this letter so that I can ask for your help. I can't tell you much of what's happening for fear that somebody else might read this, so I will keep it short. We need you to come back and help us, ALL of us. We are in great danger, and you are the only one we know that can help us. I've sent No-face to retrieve you and deliver this letter. Hopefully he had gotten there and is safe with you. So please come, and I will explain everything when you arrive. Stay safe and come quickly. _

_-Granny_

I re-read the note several times before it all actually registered. 'They're in danger!' I wasn't sure what to do. Did I need to pack? Did I go right now? Could I or should I make an excuse to my parents?

I was so caught up in my thoughts, I let out a little squeal of fright when somebody tapped my shoulder. I looked over to see No-face sitting next to me.

"Don't do that! You scared me!" He nodded and then stood before walking over to the tunnel's entrance.

"So they are really in danger?" My heart rate picked up, frightened for my second family.

He nodded before motioning for me to join him by the tunnel. I had to make a decision. Either leave, or go. I immediately discarded any thoughts on leaving and went over to No-face. My friends needed me!

"Let's go!" I said with a worried smile. Despite being worried, my excitement about seeing everybody concealed it.

He started walking towards the tunnel, but as soon as he hit the entrance, he seemed to be catapulted back, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

"No-face!" I yelled running over to him, but he was already up wearing a very distressed look. I knew what he felt immediately, like I was feeling what he was feeling. He felt trapped, or lost.

I walked over to the door, and he tried to stop me. "Let me try, maybe I can figure out what happened." I lied. There was no way I was going to figure out what was going on, but I could at least try.

I stepped over to the entrance and slowly moved my hand toward it. As soon as my hand made contact with the darkness of the tunnel, I was screaming; wondering how No-face had handled this so well.

At first, it just felt like I was too deep under water and the pressure as crushing me, but then added to it was pain that felt like my skin was being grated off by a cheese grater, then acid was splashed across me.

Next thing I knew, I was in No-face's arms ten feet away, the pain completely gone, but the memory of it still fresh. I had to force myself to step down. I was assuming that I had been thrown back and he had caught me.

"Thanks." I said before going closer to the tunnel, but keeping my distance. "I think we're trapped out here." I said, mostly to myself. No-face made a few noises.

I looked over and saw that he looked really worried, and I began to wonder how bad everything was on the other side. Was it life and death? Were they all sick? Unfortunately there was no way to find out right now.

"It looks like we're stuck, but the portal might open again soon. We just have to come back here every day to see. Until then, you can stay with me. I'm sure my parents won't mind, it's not like they'll know you're there." He nodded and picked up my backpack for me while I got my bike. Then we walked home together. Hopefully, the tunnel would open soon so that we could go help our friends.

No-face seemed to disappear the closer we got to the main road, but he kept a hand on my shoulder to let me know he was with me. He was probably trying to hide from wandering eyes. I was just happy that if I had to go back to the spirit world, then I wouldn't be going back alone. I would have somebody to lead me through it so that I wouldn't get lost. Even if he didn't talk, I trusted No-face with my life.

We reached my house and I was happy to see that my parents weren't home. That would give me some time to find No-face someplace to sleep for the night. We had a guest room, but that was always used as a kind of storage place for out dirty laundry. So I had to settle for my closet.

The closet wasn't big, but it was a sliding door, so it was long enough for somebody to lie down.

"You can sleep in here. I'll set up a few blankets. If you want you can also sleep in my bed when my parents and I are gone. But don't eat anything unless I bring it for you ok? We don't want a repeat of the bath house."

He nodded in understanding and sat at the edge of my bed, trying not to touch anything. I gave him permission to read any of my books, or to draw and write at my desk before going down the stairs to get the extra blankets and some food. When I came back up, I stopped short of the door. No-face had drawn the most amazing picture of the bath house. But there was something different about it. It looked older and more worn down. The plants around it looked dry and there wasn't any smoke or water coming out of it.

'Why would No-face draw such a depressing picture, unless…' "Is that what the bath house looks like right now?"

He nodded, then pulled out another piece of paper from the sketch pad and began drawing at breakneck speed. I set the stuff down on my bed before walking over and looking over his shoulder. He had drawn another image of a building. This one was Zeniba's house. It didn't look too different, but once again, all the plants were dying and it seemed darker.

"So this is how it looked right before you left?" He nodded. He had just started on another drawing when I heard the front door open and my mom yell that she was home.

No-face had become translucent and stood by the closet before I handed him an apple and went to greet my mom.

"Hey sweetie. How was your day?" She asked, pulling out some ingredients for dinner.

"It was fine." I said simply, trying not to indicate that something big had happened.

Within the next few hours, my dad had gotten home, we had discussed our days and we ate dinner. I was hoping No-face would be ok, but wasn't too worried considering he was quiet and calm. When dessert came, I shoveled what leftovers I could onto a plate and snuck it upstairs.

I was completely shocked by what my room had become. There were drawings of places in the spirit world I had never even seen before, and all looked as if they had been overrun by darkness. There was a particular image that I saw. It was of a large group of spirits with weapons, they were all fighting one thing, but their opponent was faded out into what seemed like a shadow. I didn't ask any questions. I simply told No-face I was going to bed, and to not use all of the paper.

**Let me know how it was! **


	4. I Dream of War

**Hey everyone! So I read this amazing story called Spirited Away 2: The Unfamiliar Realm by ****PiiXXiiEE****, and it inspired me to try and write this as well as she did hers. And I want to thank my reviewers. I don't have many, but the ones I do are amazing!**

Chapter 4: I Dream of War

_I wasn't sure how, but I had somehow gotten into the Sprit World, and was now standing in front of the bath house. But the bath house was different. Instead of the usual delicately painted wood and the lovely plants that grew beside it, there was a dull rotting building with dead plants everywhere. _

_There was no sign of life anywhere. The place looked completely abandoned, yet something was telling me to go inside. As I took a step forward, the door to the bath house opened wide, like it was sucking me in, but right before I had been fully sucked in, the image changed, and I was now in the middle of what seemed like a battlefield. _

_There were spirits in front of me with weapons of many kinds, some I had seen others foreign. What was really odd was that they were all looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something. Something rang from my mouth and they all lifted their weapons and began running at an unseen enemy. I just stood at the top of the hill and watched._

"_You're going to be ok." I heard from next to me. I turned to see a tall boy, my age with neatly-cut black hair that was down to his shoulders. He wasn't skinny, but he was thin and seemed very strong. He wore what looked like ancient bronze armor over a traditional bath house uniform. If it wasn't for the familiar Peridot eyes, then I would have thought he was some amazing unknown warrior. But there was no doubt about it; this was my dear friend Kohaku._

"_I'm not worried about myself." My dream self said, giving him a worried glance. "I don't want anybody dying for my sake. Especially you." _

_He gave me a small smile. "If I do go down, know that I won't let it be for just anybody." He said before the image changed again, and I was standing in Zeniba's house next to No-face. _

_Zeniba handed me an armful of clothes. "We've got a lot to discuss. But for now, go clean up. The war isn't going to get here overnight." _

_I knew I was dreaming, but I wasn't sure if it was actually a dream. As I felt myself waking up, I got one last image of me fighting. There was a small, but extremely fast shadow coming right at me, and before everything faded, I turned to see Haku take a deadly blow._

I woke up in a cold sweat and was relieved to see that I was still in my room completely safe. I breathed a sigh of relief before opening the window to the bright Friday morning. No-face was standing next to the bed with the usual expression on his face. I smiled at him letting him know I was fine.

I stood to get dressed and almost slipped on something. Quickly looking down I found I was standing on a large pile of papers filled with the drawings No-face had drawn last night.

"You were busy." I said bending over and picking them up. I looked in wonder at all of the amazing pictures. They were all of the bath house and the garden up until halfway where I flipped a page and saw an image of Zeniba. She looked exactly the same, the only difference was that she looked worried. I flipped to the next page and found a picture of Yubaba. I wasn't sure how I had known the difference, but I did. It might have something to do with the fact that their eyes held different expressions. One held worry and happiness while the other held malice and greed.

I flipped through the rest of them. One was of Kamaji, another of Lin, and another of Boh and Yubird. I stopped on the one that I had been looking for. It was an image of Haku; he looked exactly the same as when I had last seen him, but his eyes looked happier even if his faced showed that he was sad. He looked like he found his place, but was missing the thing keeping him there.

"This is how they looked right before you left, right?" I asked. No-face nodded and started in a new drawing.

'This can't be right. I've been gone for five years, and they look like they haven't aged a bit. But then again, they're spirits and live forever while I'm mortal.' I sighed before setting the pictures of my friends into a separate pile before stretching. I had been expecting at least Haku to look like the person in my dream.

"I'll be back in a few hours, No-face. You can do whatever you like while I'm gone as long as everything is the same when my parents get home." He nodded, and I went to get ready for school.

As I was walking to the bathroom across the hall from me, I heard my mom call me into the kitchen. I slowly and hesitantly walked in and took a seat at an empty stool. My aunt, who had come home sometime during last night had just entered the room. She looked like she knew exactly what was going on.

"Chihiro." My dad started. "As you know, we've been thinking of moving recently." My heart immediately jumped into my throat. "We found a house in Brazil, and we bought it. We know how much you love this place, so we've decided to keep this as a summer home, but the rest of the time we're going to be living in Brazil. I know it's far away and a lot different than here, but…"

"No." I suddenly said. I hadn't even known I had said it until my dad stopped talking.

"No?" he inquired.

"I'm not going." I said simply shaking my head. I was not leaving this place, and I was not going to fight about this.

"Chihiro, you're only fifteen, you can't live by yourself. Plus, what about us?" My mom added.

"I'm staying here. I don't care what it takes." Then I got a really good idea. "I can go to that live-in private school down the street."

"I thought you said you didn't want to go there?" My aunt asked. I was really irritated with her at the moment. She had been the one to plant the idea of moving in my parent's heads.

"I don't care what it takes. I'm not leaving and I'm not arguing about this with you. My home is and always will be here."

The finally seemed to understand that my feet were firmly planted in this and that they weren't going to get anywhere.

"Alright Chihiro, we'll sign you up for the boarding school, but if you change your mind at any time, you let us know." I nodded in agreement, even though I knew I would not change my mind.

Within the weekend, we had all fully packed what we needed and were now having our goodbye dinner. No-face was standing in the corner of the room, invisible to everybody, but I saw him stealing some food from a few of the dishes when nobody was looking. I couldn't help but snicker a few times when my dad would go to eat something and it would be gone.

"Have you changed you mind Chihiro? You know we won't be upset if you did." My aunt asked hopefully. I knew that if I said no, then she was going to throw a hissy fit. Sometimes, I wondered about my aunt's maturity, so I didn't give a straight answer.

"I'll make my final decision tomorrow morning before you leave." I said before saying goodnight and going up to get ready for bed.

Out of everything I had packed to move into my room in the school, what took up a lot of the bag space were my mythology books and drawings that No-face had done. I didn't know who to expect to room with at the new school, but I guess you could say I was expecting what everyone would say they expected. Stereotypical rich snobs with expensive designer clothing and cars that cost more than houses.

I went to bed Sunday night with a clear conscious, excitedly waiting for the unknown.

**So, tell me, was is good? Bad? I honestly don't care what you put in your reviews, because either way, they make me smile; and I'm not even exaggerating. Even when I get a review saying how crappy my stories are and how I should stop writing, I smile because I know they are not true. I would really enjoy some tough love too; letting me know what I need to fix. Review please!**


	5. New Girl

**Hello again everybody. So I'm glad everybody liked the last chapter! Now the good stuff starts to happen. You all know how the movie went, so I'm not going to put any of the scenes in here unless they really have to do with something in the story in its present day. Even then, I won't put it in a POV you would expect. You'll just have to wait and see. **

**Read and Review please! It's what keeps me going!**

Chapter 5: New Girl

As I had expected, my aunt had thrown a hissy fit the entire ten minute drive to the boarding school when I said I was staying. She was basically saying how much I would regret my decision and that I was nothing but a spoiled brat. My parents, No-face and I just sat and listened in amusement at how immature she was acting despite her being a fully grown thirty-four year old woman.

No-face was sitting next to me, completely invisible, but I could see him move every once in a while along with the indentation in the leather seat. He wasn't very sure about going to this new place with me where he couldn't really hide anywhere unless he was invisible. I had assured him that while everybody was in class, he would probably be able to stay in the room and draw as long as he had cleaned up by the time everybody finished.

I had gone out early this morning to buy a few things I would need, including five sketchbooks, art pencils, several picture frames and a bigger backpack just in case the portal opened again and I needed to take stuff with me.

We pulled up to the large building with big windows and a huge waterfall out front. There were other people my age walking around laughing and talking.

"Well, here we are." My mom said. She forced my aunt to stay in the car while my parents helped me carry my stuff inside. I had been assigned my room number over the phone before we had left the house and we found it easily. It was on the second floor, third door down. The door was open, but the light was off.

There were many other doors wide open and I could hear girls and guys talking all throughout the building. A few kids were walking through the halls, looking at me curiously. They obviously knew I was a new student.

I walked inside my room hesitantly and groaned on the inside. The entire room looked like a princess was let loose. It was covered in pink and purple and there wasn't one place that didn't have sparkles or a stuffed animal. We were in high school, these girls obviously didn't seem to understand that.

"Well, this is a nice looking room." My mom said, putting my stuff down on the empty bed. I looked at her incredulously before shaking my head and following suit.

"We should go find the headmaster." My dad added before we all walked out of the room down the hallway. It was hard to miss the big door that said Headmistress on it. We knocked and a woman's voice welcomed us inside.

Sitting in the chair in the back of the office was a very threatening looking lady with dark red hair and bright red lipstick. She looked at us with strict eyes and a mean grimace.

"You must be Chihiro Ogino." She said, motioning to a seat that was in front of her.

I nodded and sat down. I wasn't paying too much attention to what she was saying, but got the gist of the conversation. I was focusing more on outside the window where I saw the thick woods that I had been going in since No-face showed up.

"Alright, you may go to your room and unpack. I hope you enjoy your time here." The headmistress said breaking me out of my thoughts.

'I didn't even get her name.' I thought wryly.

Within the next few hours, my parents had left and No-face had helped me unpack. I was laying on my bed reading when two girls walked in. No-face immediately disappeared.

Both of the girls had dyed blonde hair and bright makeup. They were wearing really expensive-looking clothes and they had smug smiles on their faces.

"Well, what do we have here?" One of the girls asked. The other smiled and walked to the other side of my bed so that they were either side of me. I couldn't help but feel trapped.

"I don't know, but considering all the new stuff in the room, I would say she's our new roommate." the other girl stated with a smirk.

"So, what's your name?" The first girl asked.

"Chihiro." I replied a little hesitantly.

"What a nice name. I really like it. My names Malana and this in Kimona; we're you're roommates. So what grade are you in?"

I told them why I was there and who I was, but I didn't let any important information about my life escape my lips.

Malana was asking me all the questions while Kimona was looking through my stuff. I felt really uncomfortable with her snooping around, but all the stuff that I held important to me I had hid underneath my bed in a little box. I was about to decide whether these girls were nice or not when Kimona picked up book and then dropped it just as quickly.

"Ewww, you actually read that kind of stuff?"

Malana went over and picked it up before shrieking and throwing it onto my bed beside me.

"Ugh! You had to be one of those freaks! I never get a break here do I?" She said rubbing her hands dramatically on her pants.

I was confused to why they freaked out so much over a book. I looked over and picked it up. It wasn't anything bad, just one of my mythology books.

"Tell me that's not yours! Why would you have a book like that?" Kimona asked.

I shrugged. I didn't see anything wrong with the book or the subject. "I like mythology. I plan on majoring in it when I get to college."

They both stared at me like I had two heads, then began laughing hysterically.

"You plan on majoring in mythology!" Kimona asked, and I felt my face heat up a bit.

Malana tried to stop laughing. "You could at least try to major in something more normal, like beauty or fashion."

I just shook my head. There was no way I was giving up on this subject, I was really good at it, plus it reminded me of my friends.

"I guess we were wrong Kimona. She may be pretty, but she's a freak." Malana said before grabbing something off a dresser and walking out, Kimona right behind her. I was in utter and complete shock. In less than fifteen minutes, I had somehow made myself two enemies with nothing but a book. How was I going to get through this year _and_ next year living with those two? No-face reappeared sitting on my bed next to me and he handed me a note.

I had never had two-sided communication with No-face before. It was usually me asking a question and him answering by shaking his head. But the note was something that I was surprised by.

_I know that you've never seen my point of view before. Zeniba taught me to write, so that I could communicate with you. My grammar is not good, but my spelling is best. Those other humans are wrong. You don't listen, because you are right. I'll be here even if you can't see me, I want to go back to my world, but if I can't then I enjoy staying with you because you are a friend and human I can trust. I will sleep during day so you can sleep at night. I will try to watch other humans so you are not in trouble. We can go back to tunnel after you are done with this school thing. But need to be back before dark, or shadows can hurt us. Zeniba will talk about shadows later. _

I looked at No-face with a surprise expression, but smiled. "Thank you No-face." I said before pulling out my box of Spirit World drawings and putting the note in there. I notice that there was a new drawing on the top, and it was of all the spirit world friends I had made. They were all smiling and in the front and center were Haku and I, but I was drawn as a ten year old.

"Wow No-face, this is really good." I said. Then I got a really good idea, and pulled out one of the picture frames I had gotten. The picture was almost the right size, just a bit too big, so I folded the edges back a little bit before putting the image in the frame and putting it on my bedside table. No-face nodded happily and put the box back under the bed.

I sighed and went to get dressed for bed while No-face went searching for food. He had promised not to be in the room while any of us got dressed. Putting my book back into its designated spot on the bookshelf, I got into bed and turned off the light.

'This is going to be fun.' I thought sarcastically before I nodded off.

For the next two weeks, No-face and I took it day-by-day. My mom called every other day to make sure I was ok. I hadn't made any friends thanks to Malana and Kimona, who had went around telling everybody lies about me. No-face and I snuck off campus every afternoon to go to the tunnel and every time I had forced myself to touch the tunnel entrance. The pain never got worse or better, but there was something different every time. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

I hadn't realized that the tunnel actually did something to me until the end of the first week. I had gotten back and Malana had been in the room painting her nails. When I came in, she stuck up her nose and asked why my skin was all red. That got my attention, because it was winter so it couldn't be a sunburn and it couldn't be me blushing because I wasn't embarrassed.

I ran to a mirror that was on the wall and looked in to see my skin looked like I had been painted red. I didn't feel any different, but I knew whatever this was wasn't normal. I couldn't just freak out and say it was nothing, so I made up an excuse about it being a new medication I was allergic to and went to bed hoping it would be gone tomorrow morning.

I was right, I looked perfectly fine the next morning, but every time that I came back from the tunnel my skin would be a different shade of red, each redder than the day before. No-face didn't know why, but then again, he didn't know very much about humans. None of the spirits did. I just rubbed it off, but it really was bugging me that I didn't know why this was happening.

It was Monday of my third week and I was on my way to class, getting ready for more torture when I heard a scream come down from my dorm. Of course, I ran to go see what had happened and came face to face with a guilty-looking No-face and Kimona passed out on the ground.

"No-face, what did you do?" I asked in a whisper. I could hear others coming down the hall behind me. No-face shook his head and looked down ashamed again.

"She saw you and passed out?" I guessed and he nodded before disappearing so the others wouldn't see him.

"What happened?" One of the teachers asked as she ran up behind me. She was followed by a few other faculty and a student or two.

"I don't know. I heard her scream and came to see what was wrong. She was passed out, but I don't know why." I lied smoothly.

As other students and teachers started to show up, I backed up against the wall to make more room. Kimona still hadn't woken up and the teachers were deciding whether to use smelling salts or not. That is until my life was just made more complicated.

As I watched on in silence while the teachers tried to wake my sleeping roommate, I noticed on of Malana's guy friends come up next to me. I thought he was going to be like everybody else and ask what happened, but boy was I wrong. Instead, he smiled evilly at me before pulling the fire alarm that was right next to me, then running as fast as he could out of the room.

Everybody went into a panic, until they all turned to see me standing right next to the fire alarm, completely alone. I didn't even get to explain myself before the headmistress stepped out of the crowd and dragged me to her office.

**Hope you liked the chapter. The next two I think are going to be my favorite to write. Review please! Constructive criticism is welcome.**


	6. Again

**Yaaaay! Chapter 6! I'm excited to be writing this chapter, even if it is short, because I'm REALLY looking forward to writing the next chapter! Review please! **

Chapter 6: Again

I sat in the seat that I had sat in only two weeks ago and waited for the Headmistress to come in. I couldn't stop wringing my hands together. I knew I was in trouble; I was just hoping that I would be able to get myself out of it.

I jumped a little when she walked in. I refused to meet her eyes as I heard her high heels clacking against the linoleum. I only looked up once she took a seat in her chair. Her gaze was concentrated right on me and she seemed mad.

"So, it seems that you've been up to no good Miss Ogino. When I accepted you into this school just two weeks ago, I hadn't known that I had been accepting a trouble-maker. I've dealt with fights and arguments before, but I've never seen a student knock another out then pull the fire alarm to get away with it."

My mouth fell open. Is that what she thought had happened?

"I didn't do it ma'am. I don't even know why she was passed out. I heard her scream and went to go see what had happened. I found her passed out on the ground and while I was standing back to make room for the others, a guy ran up and pulled the fire alarm then ran away."

She looked at me with a patronizing glare and I shut my mouth before I said something that would really get me into deeper trouble.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but I don't believe you." She said. I felt my throat tighten up. What was she going to do? "But unfortunately I have no proof that you did either. Normally, I would expel you right here and now, but seeing as I don't have the proof, I can only suspend you for two weeks. That is the longest I can possibly suspend you for; but you better believe me, if you come back here any time between tonight and your return date, you will not be coming back ever again. You hear me?" I gulped and nodded.

"Go and pack the things you need. I expect you see you back and well behaved in class in two weeks, Remember my warning." I stood and bowed, forcing myself to hold my tongue. I couldn't believe that I had been successfully framed for something I had not done. When I got back, I was going to hunt down that kid and have a long talk with him. That or have No-face eat him.

I walked to my room where No-face was waiting. I knew that he had heard everything that the headmistress had said because the bag I needed was all packed and there was a note on top of it.

_I'm sorry Chihiro. I didn't expect her to walk in at the time and wish I could stop the one boy human that made you in trouble. But I helped by packing stuff you need._

I smiled a small smile at No-face. I knew that it wasn't his fault, I just wish that he hadn't been visible at the time; and it was partially my fault for standing right next to the fire alarm when I could have just gone to class.

I picked up the bag that were sitting down and made sure that I had everything I needed, just the basics. But there was one more thing I needed to do before I left.

I went out in the hallways and went to the phone. Lucky for me everybody was still in class, so they wouldn't hear this conversation and make new reasons to make fun of me.

I dialed the all-too-familiar phone number and waited for somebody to pick up,

"Hello?"

"Hi mom." I said, trying to keep the fear and guilt out of my voice. I just knew she was going to be furious.

"Hi sweetie, how are you?"

I knew that it was a bad idea, and that I would probably regret it later, but I couldn't find it in myself to care at the moment. I lied.

"I'm good. I'm just calling to let you know that the phone connections are going to be down for the next few weeks. I won't be able to call you and no calls will get through here."

"Oh really?" She asked, sounding really sad, but not suspicious in any way. "Well, make sure that you call me when they're back up, alright sweetie?" She asked.

"I will mom. I promise." I replied.

"Love you." She said before hanging up. I sighed and put the phone back down before turning to No-face.

"Alright No-face, let's go home. I'll make us some tea. He nodded and we both walked outside. I took off the tarp that was covering my bike and made sure that No-face was on and invisible before I took off.

The ride home was quiet, but that's what I was hoping for. I wanted time to think about what had happened and about why my life was so hard lately. I was about to make a comment to No-face when I suddenly felt the bike pull.

'What?' I asked myself as I stopped pedaling and watched as the bike started going at an alarming speed. If I was to fall off at this speed, then there was a possibility of me breaking my neck. SO I did the only thing I could do: Scream.

I was screaming bloody murder as the bike pedaled by itself down the street and toward a little pathway that I knew too well. I had been expecting the bike to continue on forward, but as we were passing by the path, the bike started going sideways. I looked down to see the wheels had turned to face toward the path and we were now going faster than ever.

"What's happening?" I asked to nobody in particular. We kept going forward, the ground was hard and uneven and my bones felt the painful chattering of every movement. I had no clue what was happening and was about to just risk jumping when the tunnel came into view.

'If I hit the tunnel entrance at this speed, then the pain will be one hundred times worse than it has been.' I told myself. I had no other choice, I closed my eyes and waited for the pain.

I was surprised when I felt absolutely nothing, there was no pain, or anything else. But I was not able to open my eyes in time to see the rock in front of me. We hit it head on and before either of us knew it, we were flying through the air and landing on a soft patch of long grass.

I sat up and rubbed my sore head. "What was that?" I asked before opening my eyes and looking around. It took me a moment to realize we were in the Spirit World. When I finally did realize it, I was in complete and utter shock to what I saw.

This wasn't the same place I had left only a few years ago. It had changed drastically. The entire place looked dead or sick. All the plants were brown, the air was thick with what smelled like smoke or some sort of pollution. The only color I saw was the little patch of green No-face and I were sitting in at the moment.

"What happened here?" I asked. No-face stood and came over to pick up my back pack which had fallen off during the little accident. I stood and righted my bike, which seemed to be in good-enough condition considering the few past event.

I remembered what the note had said about No-face leading me to Zeniba where I would learn what I needed to know and about how I could possibly help. No-face was already walking towards a small worn path made of drag marks and reddish brown stains that I'd rather not learn about.

I ran to catch up and we continued walking for what seemed like forever. My shoes were a mess considering all the mud I had trudged through and I felt tired and worn. By the time we had reached Swamp Bottom, I felt like I was going to drop. Luckily, Zeniba was there to raise my spirits.

She looked happy to see me, like I was to see her.

"Chihiro, it's good to see you sweetheart. Why don't you come in and I'll fix us some tea."

We talked and laughed and caught up, and soon enough, I was starting to get really tired. It was already dark and had been for a few hours. The spirits would all be awake right now, but my clock was still in the human world.

"Why don't you go change into the nightgown I set out for you and meet me back out here before you go to bed. I want to give you a special tea so that you have a good night's rest and wake up tomorrow fully refreshed."

I nodded and walked into one of Zeniba's many spare rooms. There on the bed was a long silky sea-foam green night gown. It had frills and little flower decorations all over it; but what I found the most interesting was the little embroidery at the hem that spelled my name.

'Did granny make this for me?' I asked myself before putting it on and setting my bag and dirty clothes next to the bed. I was surprised with how comfortable the night gown felt, it was so soft I was almost falling asleep standing up, but I had promised to see her before I went to bed so that I could drink that tea, although I personally didn't think I needed it.

I heard a big boom and a blast of wind came through the door and windows blowing everything around almost violently. When it settled down, I went to go see what had happened. What I saw though, I certainly wasn't expecting.

**So did you like it? I hope you did! Review and let me know!**

Episode 399 one piece


End file.
